The British Columbia Coroner's Service says a prankster is responsible for a sixth foot that apparently washed ashore on the south coast of the province. The latest foot was discovered Wednesday, when a woman walking along a beach near Campbell River, B.C., on Vancouver Island said she spotted some bones protruding from a size 10 black Adidas running shoe.

Five other feet have been found in the Vancouver area since last August, including four right feet and a left foot.

But the coroner's service says a forensic pathologist and anthropologist have examined the latest foot and it's actually an animal paw that was inserted into the shoe, along with a sock packed with dried seaweed.

Wherever there are mysteries, hoaxes are sure to be close behind.

This story is important in another respect. A theory:

"The object will ultimately be examined by a forensic pathologist in attempts to determine the source of the foot and if it is related to other feet recently found," Linteau said.

'This is too bizarre. One has to suspect criminal activity.'

Three years ago, a small float plane took off from Tyee Spit and crashed 10 kilometers away from where the foot was found Wednesday. Four of the five people on that plane remain unaccounted for.

Linteau said police are looking at the possibility that the foot found Wednesday could have belonged to one of the crash victims.

"We're exploring the possibilities that it could be people who may have been drowned. It could be missing fishermen. It could be the remains of people who may have died in a plane crash," she said."

But wouldn't the DNA have revealed this likelihood 11 months ago when the first of the feet was found?

But then from the same spokesperson, we learn this:

"The sixth foot turned up Wednesday -- a right foot in a man's size 10 black Adidas athletic shoe, police said. As in the previous cases, however, immediate answers as to the foot's origin eluded detectives.

"We are exploring the possibility that it could be people who may have drowned," said Annie Linteau, a spokeswoman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "It could be missing fishermen. It could be the remains of people who may have died in a plane crash."

When asked about the suspicion of foul play, Linteau noted that the first four feet contained no tool marks and were therefore deemed not to have been severed.

It is too early to say how the foot found Wednesday was separated from a body, and Linteau did not address the question of how the fifth foot came to be detached.

"It is certainly a very unusual situation," she said. "We have to explore all avenues and investigate all theories."

Hmmmm. Little bit of hedging on the skeletal separation statements earlier released, which might be compatible with a plane crash. And there were 5 on the plane and six unmatching, at least so far, feet.